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Taking 1 Million Cars Off the Road in New York City

With more than 2.7 million vehicles entering the city each day—most carrying just a single passenger—it’s no wonder New York City has a congestion problem. We’ve all experienced the frustration of bumper-to-bumper traffic, delaying us from getting to where we need to be. And while New York’s traffic problem predates Uber’s arrival in New York just four years ago, we believe that technologies like Uber will be part of the solution to congestion.

At Uber, our vision for the future is one of many fewer cars on the road. We believe traditional car ownership can be a thing of the past. Why own an extremely expensive asset, worth tens of thousands of dollars, that sits unused most of the time?

As demand for Uber grew, we noticed an interesting phenomenon: more than half of all Uber trips had a look-a-like trip, or a ride occurring along a similar route at around the same time. That’s when we thought, why not match those riders, let them ride together and split the fare? Enter uberPOOL: share the ride, share the cost, share the #UberLove.

Since its launch in December, hundreds of thousands of riders have tried uberPOOL in NYC, not only making their ride more affordable but also negating the need for another car to make that same trip. Occasionally, the ride even takes a turn for the magical: uberPOOL trips have resulted in job offers, hilarious tweets, and at least one happily ever after.

With uberPOOL, our goal is simple: take 1 million cars off the road in New York City and help eliminate our city’s congestion problem for good. We want to do our part and invest in creating a less congested, greener future for New York City. So, for a limited time, all uberPOOL rides South of 96th Street in Manhattan will be a $10 flat rate. As long as your ride begins and ends in Manhattan (south of 96th)—and regardless of whether or not you’re matched with another rider—the trip will be just $10.